Stolen Moments
by Adribug354
Summary: The Institute is huge...why is it so hard for two teenagers in love to find some privacy?


The Institute was huge. There were more rooms than Clary could count. She had tried one day, but lost count somewhere around 175. It had the capability to hold hundreds of Shadowhunters if it was needed. Although these days, it rarely held more than the Lightwoods, plus Clary, her mother and Luke. There were literally dozens of rooms left empty every day.

So how is it, in a building this large, there was never any privacy for two teenagers in love?

Soon after returning home from Idris, Clary and Jace had tried to find time to spend together. After all, they had been separated for months, resisting this connection between them thinking they were related. Now that they were free to explore their feelings in a more socially accepted manner, they were constantly being interrupted. It was if there was some cosmic force testing them, and getting some perverse laugh at their expense.

On this day, however, they found themselves blissfully alone.

"At last," Jace breathed against her neck. He had come from behind to wrap his arms around her. They had talked Alec into going to visit Magnus for a bit. Isabelle was out with her newest Downworlder fling. Simon was practicing with his band (now called "Sun-baked Chicken" - a name Clary couldn't figure out its origin and had decided it was probably best not to ask). Robert and Maryse were out on official Clave business. Finally, they were alone in the Institute.

"At last what?" Clary said, leaning back against his strong frame.

"At last I can have my way with you, woman", he replied. Clary could feel him smile against her skin. She turned around to face him and looped her arms around his neck. "Your way with me, huh? Who says I'm going to let you do that?"

"As if you could resist me." Clary saw the smirk on his lips as he lowered his head to hers. Even though they had entered into their romantic relationship several months ago, kissing Jace still felt new and exciting. As cliche as it sounded, Clary felt fireworks each time they kissed. Actually, fireworks might not fully describe it. His lips were soft and had a gentle pressure that slowly forced her mouth to open to him. Jace's hands roamed over her back and lifted up her shirt to feel her bare skin. Clary tangled her fingers through his silky, golden hair.

He kissed her with a languid slowness. The kiss of a man with no hurry, with the knowledge that he could do this every day for the rest of his life. She enjoyed this feeling. The feeling of belonging to him completely. That he belonged to her just as equally. As their kisses often did, though, it quickly turned more passionate. Jace's grasp became more intense, and she relished the increased closeness of their bodies. Their tongues tangled together and Clary felt herself being led backwards towards the sofa. Jace maneuvered them so that she fell softly back into the cushions. He followed her, barely lifting his lips from her own.

Clary would wonder later how Jace had become so adept at finding optimal spots for kissing while continuing the actual act of kissing so gracefully.

Now, however, Clary's mind was far too clouded to think such things. She was caught up in the pure physicality of Jace. His strong, nimble hands. His soft and probing lips. The tight muscles underneath her fingers that she could feel moving as she ran her hands up and down his back.

His mouth could do amazing things. Held captive between the cushions and his body, Clary's head fell back as Jace's lips moved from her mouth and traveled down her neck, trailing hot kisses until he reached the skin behind her ear. His lips stayed there for a while, steamy breaths tickling in a very delicious way. Slowly he raised his head to look her in the eye. "I love you, you know," he said simply.

Clary smiled up at him, "yeah, I know."

As they settled into the sofa, watching the fire cast shadows around the room, Clary and Jace heard Isabelle's heels clicking on the floor drawing closer to them. She entered with a dramatic sigh and flip of her long, dark hair. "Are you two honestly just sitting here on a Friday night? How boring and expected", Isabelle's exasperated voice echoed through the small room.

Jace smiled up at her from the cushions. "You see, Izzy, when you enter into a stable relationship as we have," he indicated himself and Clary, "you don't feel the need to go out each night for cheap thrills. You make your own." He waggled his eyebrows and pulled Clary closer.

"I do not need to hear this. I just came back because I forgot my clutch. I'll just leave you two to your...thrills then." Izzy left the room in a flurry of skirts and hair, leaving Jace and Clary happily alone again.


End file.
